DIY Gourmet Candy Apples!!

Candy apple w/ caramel, white chocolate, Reese's Cups and chocolate drizzle

A couple of years ago Charlie came home from work with what looked like a candy covered soccer ball on a stick, LOL!!  When I asked what it was he informed me that it was, supposedly, an apple (someone was giving them out as a promo thing).  Neither of us was convinced because, I mean, it was HUGE!!!  What I didn't realize was that 1/2 of that 'bulk' was candy, white chocolate and caramel.  So, not convinced, we cut into it and sure enough, there was an apple in there!!  With that first bite came a revelation . . . it . . . was . . . AMAZING!!  and . . . . I could totally make one of these! (you can find them online and in but they are fairly expensive).

I have been making them for several years, with trial and error of course.  I'll share with you how I do it.  It may seem complex but it is totally easy and not even very time consuming (unless you are making like 6 at a time, which I HAVE done before, LOL).
I wish I would have taken pictures of all the apples I have made (some were rather impressive) but alas, I did not.  But I did find a few pictures taken over the years (I included them all here).

S more's apple on the left, coconut and chocolate on the right, they are in plastic bags for transport

 OK here is what you need

• 1 large Granny Smith apple (I have tried others, and granny smith is best, but if you can't find a big one then anything that is sour or tart and crisp will work better than a more mild flavored or sweet apple).
• A sprinkle of baking soda
• 1/2 pack of caramels (25 cubes of caramel)
• 1 tablespoon of water (no more, no less . . .trust me, I have learned this from experience)
• 1 pack of white chocolate chips (I have also used chocolate or a combo of both, but white is a good standby and easy to work with, quick and less messy.  White Almond Bark may work, but though I have used it for dipped pretzels and coated cookies, I have never used it on an apple) 
• Cream (optional)
• 1 stick (A regular Popsicle stick won't work, it is too small. In the past I have used large popsicle sticks, those square craft sticks, chop sticks, a couple bamboo skewers etc.  You just need something that is strong enough to hold the apple when it is coated and heavy).
• Candy.  In the past I have used reeces cups, heath bar (those 2 are the best IMO) snickers, M&M's, coconut, peanuts, raisins, sprinkles, candy canes, candy corn, pretty much anything and everything.  Or you can do a 'themed' apple.  I have used chocolate, graham crackers and marshmallows for a Smores apple (seen above).  I have done Trail Mix, Or you can do crushed Oreos (for dirt) and gummy worms.  The options are endless!!  Google "gourmet candy apple" and you are sure to find plenty of sites online that sell them and there are tons of ideas! 
• A handful of chocolate chips - optional (to melt and drizzle on top to make it look a bit more 'fancy') 
• Cellophane and a ribbon - optional (for presentation if you want to impress).

Keeping it simple . . . The apple on the left is caramel and chocolate with white chocolate drizzle, on the right is caramel with white chocolate covered with chocolate and chips

Start by washing your apple.  This is where the baking soda comes in.  Most apples have this waxy film on them that makes it harder for stuff like the caramel to stick, so I wet the apple and rub it around in my hands with some baking soda in an effort to get as much of the film off as possible. 

Then rinse, dry the apple and put your stick in the top.

Put your caramels and water in a microwave safe bowl - 1/2 pack or 25 cubes of caramel, and 1 T of water OR 7oz of caramel with 1 T. of water.  If you can't find the caramel cubes and/or don't know the weight, then just check the package of whatever you buy and see if they have recommendations for making candy apples and how much water to add. (Too little or no water makes it very hard to chew, too much water and the caramel runs off . . . ask me how I know ;-)  Microwave for 30 sec, then for another 30, then stir, then keep zapping for 15 seconds till it is melted (sometimes it doesn't look melted but they will melt as you stir them up more).  You may find that if you stir it enough then you only need to do it 3 or 4x.  You want the caramel to be very thick, if it runs easily and quickly off the spoon it is too thin, so wait for it to cool for a minute.  You want it thick because if it is too thin it will run down the apple as it is cooling and you will end up with a thin layer of caramel on top and a thick pool at the bottom.

Spooning thick caramel over the top (this was one of those cases where I couldn't find a big Granny Smith . . . it isn't quite the same without the Granny Smith)

Hold the apple by the stick over the bowl of caramel and spoon it around the top of the apple, letting it run down the sides.  If it is so thick that it doesn't run all the way down no problem, you can then just use the spoon to spread it around till the whole thing is covered (using all the caramel).  Then I place it on a greased plate and into the fridge (or outside on the porch if it is cold).  I check it after a min or so and if too much caramel has run down to the bottom I pick the apple up with my hands and mold the caramel back onto the body (making sure to get it as even on top and bottom as possible).

Pasting on the white chocolate by hand

 While the apple sits in the fridge I melt the white chips (1 whole pack) on low on the stove, adding a splash of cream to them (maybe like 1T or so) which makes a ganache (this is optional). **while it is melting you can chop your candy if needed** Watch them closely, stirring occasionally (don't over stir).  I like to chips to be melted but only warm to the touch.  Sometimes I can catch them as they are just melted, sometimes they get too hot and I have to remove them from the heat and let them cool a bit till I can handle it.  Either way, once they are cool enough that you can reach in the pot and scoop it out with your hand that should work.  Then, I pick up the apple (you may have to use a spatula to pop it off the plate) and paste the white chocolate on with my hands till it is all on there and evenly spread.   

Next, while the white chocolate is still soft (but not so warm as to melt the chocolate in my candy) I take the candy and place it into the white chocolate.  If you are using something like graham cracker crumbs, coconut, sprinkles, or something small, you can roll the apple around it it to coat it completely, then you want to hand place larger chunks.  With cut up candy, usually I just sprinkle on the smaller pieces then I take larger chunks and piece them on.  When I have all the candy on there I stick it back in the fridge.

While it hardens in the fridge again, I melt a handful of chocolate chips in the microwave, pop them in a sandwich bag, snip off the end to drizzle over the top to finish it off.

Then I keep it in the fridge till I am ready to serve (or take it wherever we are going).  It will keep for a while, so you can make them days early if needed.

To serve, cut it in triangular slices from the top center (where the stick is) kind of like you are cutting a cake.

Apple slices

If you want it to look nice you can cut a big piece of cellophane, set the apple in the middle, gather it all at the top and tie it off (on the stick) with a ribbon.  Just makes for a nice presentation, especially if you are giving it as a gift (and they make a really nice gift for Christmas, or any other special occasion).  They are nice for parties, showers, or any type of get-together. 

Apple in cellophane, with ribbon and tag ready to be given as a gift at Christmas

 ENJOY!!  

Popcorn Balls (with Candy Corn)

So I made these the other day for a Halloween party.  I loved them so much that I made them again a few days later and will make them again in a few days for another Halloween party.  

A few people asked me for the recipe so I figured I'd just put it in a post to share with everyone!

These are SO good . . . addictive actually (meaning that once I start eating them it is hard to stop).  I think it is the candy corn.  I like candy corn OK, but I don't like LOVE it.  But when you eat it in these popcorn balls you don't specifically taste the candy corn (which was surprising to me).  You get more of just the sweet flavor and texture and it is SOOO good!!

There are several different variations you can do with this, so I'll list all the options and you can play around with it.  This makes a fairly small batch, so for a party (or a large family) I double or triple it.

INGREDIENTS

• 5-6 cups of popped popcorn (you will use less if you add more 'extras' more with fewer extras)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter
• 3 cups of small marshmallows
• 1 cup of candy corn

Options

• A few cubes of caramel (or if you don't have that you can add a squirt of caramel syrup or maybe sprinkle in some brown sugar)
• 1 heaping Tbsp of peanut butter
• 1 cup of chopped peanuts

*** You can make it with just the top 4 ingredients if that is all you have or if you just want to keep it simple.  However, I like to melt some caramel in with the marshmallows and butter to add a bit more sweetness.  With my 2nd batch I added the peanut butter and the caramel and it was EVEN BETTER!!  I haven't tried the peanuts in it yet but I would guess that they rock.

my 2nd batch with added peanut butter . . . yummmm

For the popcorn . . . you can use any kind of popcorn (I think that leftover movie popcorn would probably be SO good).  Microwave popcorn would be easy but I pop mine on the stove.  If you make it on the stove, I use a pot and do 1/4 cup of oil (olive, coconut etc) and 1/2 cup of popcorn. This gives you enough for the popcorn balls and some leftover to snack on.  I added just a touch of brown sugar when it started popping (not enough to make it full kettle corn but just to add a bit of sweetness) then I did salt it after it finished.  One thing to keep in mind . . . when measuring out your popcorn for this recipe, pay special attention that you don't include any unpopped kernels . . . they are not fun to eat in popcorn balls . . . very hard on the teeth!!

In a large pot, melt butter, marshmallows and the caramel and peanut butter if you choose to add those (keep in mind the caramel takes longer to melt).  Once everything is melty and gooey, remove it from the heat and dump in your popcorn and candy corn (and peanuts if you add them).  You can also dump the sauce over your popcorn in a separate bowl, it works just as well.  Mix it up till it is all covered.  It is hot so I will wait a minute before I start shaping it into balls.  Put them on wax paper to dry (they are sticky).

To shape the balls it is important to wet your hands with cold water or it will be very messy and sticky and impossible to work with!  I find I have to wet my hands after every few balls I shape (and don't forget to make sure that candy corn is included in every one).  When I had the kids helping me I gave them a bowl of cold water so they could keep dipping their hands.  Pack them nice and firm or they will fall apart when you set them down to harden.

I like to make them about the size of a golf ball, that way they are more snack size (less waste if someone starts to eat one and then doesn't finish it . . . however rare that may be ;0)  And it is a good size for the kids to help make too.  This recipe above made me about 20 or so golf ball sized balls.

Let them sit for a bit to cool and harden and then ENJOY!!

Spaghetti Tacos

If any of you have older kids who watch the show I Carly then you know what these are!  I don't know what took us so long to make them but one day Charlie just said hey, lets make spaghetti tacos!  So of course the kids were all about it!

I had wanted to just do them like regular tacos, but put the spaghetti on the bottom. So it would have been spaghetti with tomatoes and lettuce and cheese on top etc. (maybe some salsa too, who knows) but Charlie thought it best to just stuff tacos with spaghetti.  He was probably right, well meaning that surely the kids would prefer that.  So that is what we did.

We cooked up some regular spaghetti, added to it sauce and ground beef and mixed it all up in a large bowl
Then we took some hard taco shells and stuffed it with the pre-mixed spaghetti, and then sprinkled some cheese on top.

That's it!  Super easy!

The kids LOVED it! (as you can see below) It was a fun meal and it was surprisingly good.  I mean it was really good!  Who would have thought that spaghetti in taco shells would be so tasty!

Hairy Hot Dogs

 Or as the kids have been calling them, squid dogs (on the count of they look like squid)!  Sounds gross but it is a really cool twist to the traditional hot dog (and spaghetti for that matter).  I saw them in the latest issue of Family Fun Magazine and after having a stomach bug last week (always fun right?) I figured we were due for something special.

They are super easy to make (takes a bit longer than regular hot dogs or spaghetti) and the kids LOVE them!!

All you have to do is . . . .

• Cut
• Insert
• Boil
• Enjoy

 Cut your hot dogs into pieces.  I did 5 pieces per dog but you could do more or less.

 

Insert uncooked spaghetti into the hot dog pieces. 

  

The kids had fun with this which definitely saved me time (I was shoving like 3 in at a time to go quicker).  

  

We did like 5-7 strands of spaghetti per piece.  You could do less.  I guess it depends on how much pasta you want.  It ended up being quite a load of spaghetti.

  

Then boil.  I just boiled according to the spaghetti instructions.

  

Enjoy!!

  

As you see the kids had fun eating this!

  

We just ate them like we would regular hot dogs, they had ketchup to dip them in.  But you could totally serve it like spaghetti (especially if you use a lot of spaghetti like we did) and do it in a bowl with pasta sauce (assuming you can keep their fingers out of it, LOL).

  

 The kids are drinking Tibicos (aka water kefir lemonade . . . more on that in another post)

Thrace absolutely freaked out and threw his apple on the floor when he saw them, so I had to give him some.  He preferred the hot dog unfortunately (wasn't really planning on feeding him hot dog at 8mo but he was screaming for it) 

 

We don't do hot dogs often, but this will definitely be the way we do them from now on!!

Homemade Butter

I know when you think about homemade butter you envision someone sitting on their front porch on a hot summer day, big butter churn, in dress and bonnet, just churning away for hours only stopping to wipe the sweat off of her brow.
OK people it is totally is NOT like that.  It is actually pretty easy and quick.

We drink raw milk (which we love) and one of the best things about it is that the cream rises to the top.  We skim the cream off and use it for everything, including making butter.  We don't have enough cream to replace all the butter we use, but we can make enough butter for spreading on bread or pancakes or whatever (not enough to bake with, though I tend to use a lot of butter in place of oils etc.)

There are several ways you can make butter.  Mostly you just need to agitate the cream.  For kids it is fun to put it in a jar with some marbles and let them shake and shake (maybe I'll post about that later) but the easiest way I have found is to use a food processor or something similar that will agitate the cream really fast.  I use one of those large processors/choppers. the blade at the bottom works fine to move it all really fast.  I have used the little handy chopper when I had just a small amount of cream and only needed a little butter, but I am sure you could use a stand mixer or stick mixer or even beaters if that is all you have.

How to make Butter at Home

Start with cream.  Raw cream is ideal but heavy cream that you buy at the store will work too.

It works quicker if the cream is room temp.  With our raw cream I will sometimes leave it out overnight (raw cream sours, it doesn't spoil).  Letting it get a little sour makes for better butter.  I am sure you can let store bought cream sit out too, but not too long (don't want it going rancid).  You can use cold cream from the fridge too, I have when I didn't plan ahead it just takes a bit longer.  Using a food processor, I can usually get butter in 3-6min.

This day I used 4 cups of cream (and got 1 cup of butter).

It had been in the fridge for a couple weeks, so was already a tad sour but was also very thick on top (the longer it sits, the thicker it gets on top, a bit thinner on the bottom).

Pour it in your food processor etc. and turn it on.  The processor will churn your cream into butter.  Normally I just let it run till I have butter, but I have stopped mine to take pictures to show you the changes it goes through.  The first few times you make it you are sure to stop it several times to check anyway, until you get a hang of what it looks/sounds like when it gets to the butter stage.

Within a minute or 2, your cream will start to thicken and eventually you will make whipped cream.

 I have a nice thick cream above, and below shows a pretty good whipped cream.

But you have to keep going.

 

As you churn longer, your whipped cream will go from smooth (above) to a bit lumpy with more texture (below)

 

As you keep churning it will continue to get more texture to it, looking almost grainy, but still thick.  The picture below would be a very buttery flavored whipped cream.

As it gets closer to turning into butter, it will "appear" to thin out some, as the buttermilk is starting to separate out.  You can see below that it is watery, with some thicker globs, but it isn't quite finished butter yet, almost.

Keep going

When the buttermilk completely separates out, then you have butter (below).  The change from the picture above to the one below can be very quick and you will notice an immediate difference (which I talk about below)

Notice all the thin white buttermilk, with the thick globs of yellow butter completely separated out.

Here I have taken a spoon and pushed all the butter to the side so you can see how it has separated from the buttermilk.

There are a couple ways you can tell if your butter is finished, other than stopping the machine and pulling the top off to check.

If you watch it churning, you can see it go through all the stages I have shown in the pictures.  Once it gets to the butter stage though, there will be an immediate noticeable change.  As you are watching it churn, it will look thick from the outside of the bowl, but as it turns to butter it will change immediately and look really thin like water, as the buttermilk, which has separated out, is thrown up the sides of the bowl.  It makes for a really noticeable difference and if you are watching it churn it is something you can't miss (make sure you have the lid on the bowl!!)

Another clue is how it sounds,  when it gets to the butter stage, because of the change in texture, the machine will make a different sound than it did before.  If you are listening, you can hear it.

 

Once you have butter, you will need to strain out your buttermilk.  I usually just push all the butter to one side and pour the buttermilk into a jar to refrigerate and use for whatever.  This is not the same as buttermilk you buy in a store, that is cultured buttermilk.

The next step is to wash the butter.  You want to get as much buttermilk out of the butter as possible or it will spoil really quick.  I typically work it around in the bowl, replacing the water with fresh water till all the water is clear.  You need to use cold water.  If the water isn't cold the butter will be mushy and sticky.  Lately I have just been using my hands and working it that way (cold butter can be handled easily).  I'll keep the bowl in the sink and keep a stream of water running into it till it is all rinsed.

Once all the water runs clean and I am pretty sure I have all the buttermilk out, I then work the remaining water out of the butter (below).  You can press it over and over against the side of a bowl, working it around and around till all the water is out.  If it is nice and cold and firm I will sometimes blot it in a cloth or something too.

 

After it is rinsed you can add salt (I usually knead it in by hand) and any flavors (honey for honey butter etc.).

To store, I usually just put it in a glass bowl with a lid but you can roll it in was paper or put it in molds in the fridge or whatever.  I have found it will usually keep for a week or 2.  But you can put it in the freezer and it will keep longer.  It is very hard so you can let it sit out a bit if you want it spreadable.  I like to use it immediately after I make it.  It is VERY yummy!!

 

The night I made this butter Charlie had made some soup and bread!!!

Need I say Mmmmmmm!!

Pilgrim Hats and a Turkey Cake

So I am finally getting around to posting about Thanksgiving.  I know I had mastitis a couple days before TG but I was determined to make this Turkey cake I saw over at the Family Fun website.

I made my 2 butter cakes in bowls (they were the light meat) and a spice cake in a bread pan (the dark meat, and it overflowed all over my oven UGH).  I also made 2 pecan pies.  Then I packed it all up to take on the trip to Lynchburg (just 3 hrs away).  It took us 7 hrs to get everything packed and in the car (so much more work with 5 kids and a dog to take with you).  Then at my in-laws house we (that being me, Charlie and my mother in law) assembled the cake.  Here is how it turned out.

The icing kind of melted a bit on the way to my sister Kim's house where we had Thanksgiving dinner (it was another 45 min or so drive)  But I think it turned out great!! 

I put the 2 bowls together to form the body (after doing some repair work and shaping). Then I carved 1 leg out of the spice cake and Charlie did the other and we skewered them to the body.  I decided to put the legs directly on the plate instead of trying to attach them to my turkey mid body like they show in the instructions. That was Charlies idea and he was right, they never would have held up.  Charlies mom makes cakes for people, so she was very intrigued by the whole thing.  She used her coloring stuff to mix up the frosting color, then she frosted it for me (as I was sewing a dog coat for Ptolemy because it was getting cold out).  I cut the extra cake scraps into squares to make the stuffing and Charlie decorated it with the oranges and cranberries!

Everyone got a kick out of it!!

We also made these cute Pilgrim hats

 The idea was to make them with the kids but they were too interested in watching the new Ben 10 Alien Swarm movie (my sister Karla actually worked on the set of the movie).  We have been waiting for it to come out for like 9mo so they were pretty excited about it.  I did get Piper to help some though.

It was super easy.  Dip large marshmallows in melted chocolate chips.  Place them on fudge stripe cookies (upside down) and then mix up some yellow frosting to make the hat buckles!

All the kids loved them . . . next time I am going to have to make more!

The spread

Banana Bread

(no pictures this time. I need a new battery charger)

I know there are lots of Banana Bread recipes out there. I have 1 or 2 that I usually make but the other day I thought I would try my Zucchini Bread recipe (because I love it so) and just make it banana instead. It turned out really well, VERY moist. Of course I didn't make it identical, I didn't make it chocolate or add chocolate chips (though you can if you want) and it has a really nice brown sugar/cinnamon crunch in the middle!! Oh and I like to add walnuts! But the bulk of the recipe was the same.

So here it is . . .

Ingredients

• 1 8oz package of cream cheese
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 Tbsp Vanilla
• 3 eggs
• 6-8 bananas (I used 7)
  
• 2 1/2 cups of whole wheat flower (I use pastry)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups (or less) of sugar
• a hand full (or 2) of chopped walnuts
  

For the crunchy middle

• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.
In a large bowl beat softened cream cheese and butter.
Add sugar and beat till fluffy (though with the type of sugar I use it doesn't get fluffy).
Add vanilla. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in mashed banana.
In a separate bowl add all other dry ingredients and mix well.
Add the dry bowl to the wet, mixing them together well. Stir in walnuts.
If you wanted to really make it like the zucchini bread you could also add the 1/2 cup of cocoa and chips. I have never tried it though.
Grease 2 loaf pans. Use only 1/2 of the batter, filling each only 1/2 way. Mix the Cinnamon/brown sugar together and sprinkle over the top, then fill the rest of the way with the remaining batter.
Cooks on 350 for an hour!

Enjoy!!

Mmmmm, Chocolate Zucchini Bread!

I first tasted this bread when a friend of mine brought it to a 'playgroup' a few years ago. It was SO yummy!! She sent me to the site online with the recipe. I made a few changes (mostly replaced the oil, reduced the sugar and added some chocolate chips). I make this bread every other week or so. The kids love it!! They eat it plain but I like it warmed with real, raw butter. A friend of mine thinks it would be good warm with vanilla ice-cream on top . . . I have yet to try that, LOL!!

The best thing . . . it makes 2 loaves and each loaf has a cup of zucchini in it (though often I add more) and I make it with whole wheat flour!!


Ingredients

• 1 80z package of cream cheese
• 1 Stick of real butter (softened)
  
• 1 1/2 cups of sugar (I use turbinado or raw, though sucanat would be best I can't afford to use it for baking, LOL)
  
• 3 eggs
• 1 Tbsp vanilla
• 2 cups of pealed shredded zucchini
  
• 2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour (I use organic whole wheat pastry flour)
• 1/2 cup baking cocoa
• 1 tsp cinnamon
  
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350
In a large bowl, beat together softened cream cheese and butter, add sugar and beat till fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, then add vanilla. Stir in shredded pealed zucchini.
In another bowl mix your flower, cocoa, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and baking powder.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir till mixed.
I add a handful of regular, semi-sweet chocolate chips and mix them in. Then I sprinkle mini chips over the top after it is poured into the pans (or you can use regular or mini chips throughout)
Grease 2 loaf pans (I use 8.5 x 4.5" glass loaf pans, but I have used smaller loaf pans and they work just fine too . . . you just have a smaller but taller loaf).
Pour batter into your 2 pans and sprinkle the mini chips over the top (how much you want to use is up to you).
Bake @ 350 for an hour.

Enjoy!!